Dr. Stefano Bloch visits US-Mexico border with students
April 25, 2026
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Prof. Stefano Bloch; SGDE graduate students Ryan Fatica, Noah Schlager, Cassidy Schoenfelder, and Induja Kumar; UA School Garden Workshop Curriculum Coordinator Maria Celis; and geography undergraduate representatives Austin McCrary and Rileigh Burch led a trip to the U.S./Mexico border to discuss issues related to immigration, surveillance infrastructure, political boundaries, state violence, and the Sonoran Desert ecosystem. SGDE undergraduates and students from the UA Honors College attended the day-long research trip.
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Prof. Bloch lectures at the border barrier in Nogales, Arizona. Photo by Ryan Fatica.
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The border as classroom. Photo by Ryan Fatica.
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U.S. Marines and Border Patrol at the border barrier. Photo by Olivia Sobczak.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover was a guest in Prof. Stefano Bloch's Crime and the City class. She discussed constitutional rights in the context of recent ICE activity in the U.S., as well as her own career path from the University of Arizona to defense work and advocacy, and then to her current elected position as the top prosecutor, where she champions diversion programs and justice for victims of crime.
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Conover, middle, with some of the geography, criminology, and pre-law students in Prof. Bloch's class. Photo by Sadiqa Yunis.